Cue the Feedback...Talent Show Interviews
By Katie McEldowney
Cue the feedback….
The past two weeks, we have had the privilege of seeing some talent present in Owasso High School; we are all aware of theatre, choir, band and art, but do these limit where the talent of the student body lies?
After getting to witness some of the talents in the East and West Campus talent shows, I had the privilege to interview two of the contestants, one from each show. To start, I interviewed Beyonca Ibrahim— 16 and a sophomore at Owasso High School. Beyonca performed first in the West Campus Talent show and performed a second time at the end due to technical difficulties.
Beyonca is a singer/songwriter, but she raps and plays guitar as well as a bit of piano. She’s a fun-loving girl who never fails to make you laugh, and when I interviewed her, she did just that. She opened up about when it started for her.
“It started with Xbox singing games; rock band was my beginning”
She confessed that she had been writing poetry since she was 10 and had written her first song at the beginning of the 2019 summer.
“Now, I’ve learned to turn my poetry into songs,” said Ibrahim. She soon began opening up about her dream— how she hoped for everyone to hear of the things she had been through and for the ones who understood to know they were not alone. She also shared the artists who inspired her most: Tupac and XXX Tentacion. They always rapped about real things, and she felt as if they understood her. To finish up my interview, Beyonca told me what singing for her really did;
“All my anger and sadness are reflected in the things I sing and rap; the melody is just the bittersweet things that come with it.”
Now, I’m fairly sure many of you know Jackson Mullins, the funny and outgoing metalhead with the amazing hair. Jackson is 17 and a Senior this year at Owasso, and when I asked him when this all started, he was not shy to opening up.
“It has been 5 years, coming up on 6; originally, I was in Owasso band, but I quit and I began to learn to make my own music.”
Jackson also shared with me the artists who have inspired him, such as Sepultura, Pete Steele, Muse, and TOOL.
“But there are hundreds more,” Mullins confesses with an easy smile.
When asked what he felt when playing, he gave several answers that had me laughing. He told me how he “ate an entire container of mints before the talent show,” but when I prodded him, asking what he felt when it was just him, that was when the real answer was revealed.
“I get a rush when I play something new,” Jackson began. “I prefer playing rather than teaching, but I do both.”
In his spare time, Mullins has also been teaching guitar lessons for a year and a half and recently began to restore guitars. Jackson enjoys not only playing music, but listening to it as well.
Remember, to be talented, you don’t have to be in a club or specific group; talent lies all around us, and you never know where. Make sure to show those who are passionate about something your support and encouragement, so they will continue to pursue it. This world needs all the passion and inspiration it can get!